Be N!ce + Xray Vez + Luxury Nan Smell + Shallow Honey at The Lady Luck, Canterbury: live review and photo galleries

Small in stature but huge in presence and popularity, The Lady Luck hosted a packed out audience for an absolutely stacked line-up of post-punk musicians, all genuinely thrilled to see so many fans of them or punk music out in force. In contrast to the melting music, the bands couldn’t compliment each other and the crowd enough, bringing a sense of camaraderie that transcended Girlhood and brought everyone together as a unit. It’s enough to make you well up while throwing down in the mosh pit.

Most would find it daunting to be first on the roster, but Shallow Honey own the stage from the first shattering cymbal, bringing a wild energy and pop-punk sound that reaches the venue’s rafters. The band worked as a cohesive unit to deliver a thumping drumbeat with quick-fire bass and tastily distorted riffs and licks, while the singer Rae Conway‘s vocals weaved from clean notes to scathing punk yells, the crowd making space to two-step energetically. Bringing their take on the world and particularly the reality for women, best delivered in their newly released tracks about choosing ‘The Bear’ followed immediately by their smash hit ‘Ordinary Men’ which explains why women choose the bear, Conway received cheers back from the crowd before leaping into it to shimmy alongside them. Their sound isn’t honey sweet but is guaranteed excitement!

If the crowd were expecting a break they were sorely mistaken, as Luxury Nan Smell immediately ripped into visceral math-punk that had the floor shaking and the audience screaming back. Their beats and guitars practically bone-shuddering, dual vocalist/guitarists Rose Davies and Emily Doyle throw themselves about the stage, Doyle bringing the cleaner, yet still powerful, lyrics while Davies dived in with primal screams. Not content with the music to shake the venue, the audience opened the mosh pit and bounded into a circle pit as Luxury Nan Smell barrelled through their newly released EP Complimentary and fan-favourites from EP Derogatory, flipping the mic to the crowd during ‘Fucked Up Nasty Man’ for them to scream along and feel united with Luxury Nan Smell. You could smell the cathartic liberation in the air (it didn’t smell of nans).

Turning the night on its head is Xray Vez, the solo project of singer Veronique Hawksworth, who steps onto the stage in a sunshine yellow outfit to epitomise her sunny disposition, juxtaposed with the self-deprecating pop-punk sound she delivers with her touring band. Bringing dreamy vocals over an intense drum beat and snappy hi-hat, the crowd swayed to Xray Vez’s enjoyably upbeat music, some tracks coming through more punk with fiery guitar riffs. Xray Vez takes a slightly different approach to feminist rock and sings about increasingly specific things women relate to, getting a visceral scream when she introduces her song for “girls who like horses”. Unique, refreshing, and upbeat, no-one could put it better than the customer who yelled in delight, “all these songs are written for me!”

Be N!ce are fast becoming a favoured band on the frontline of new wave punk, and it’s easy to see why. Be N!ce bite back and don’t let up, with raw punk, vocalist Pol Mill’s bringing their trademark eviscerating sound and intersectional, raging lyrics, briefly handing the mic over to two-stepping bassist Emily Harris and showcasing the shared talents and united trust of the band as Emily punched through the sound barrier with her primal screams. Contrasting to their fun appearance of not taking things seriously, their sound is electric and cuts to the bone, guitarist Brett Lee absolutely shredding dangerous riffs and solos in tandem with drummer Alex McIntosh wailing on his kit, sunglasses firmly on. The crowd were blessed to hear the live debut of new single ‘Green Burial’ and matched the band’s off-the-charts energy, Be N!ce only giving the crowd fleeting moments to collect themselves before launching into another ferocious track. Was it a nice night? No, it was fucking epic.